Houston Rockets trade James Harden to Brooklyn Nets in 4-team megadeal

The Nets and Rockets announced the trade Thursday morning. Brooklyn dealt Houston a package that includes guard Caris LeVert and three first-round draft picks. League sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne that the Rockets will trade LeVert to the Indiana Pacers for Victor Oladipo. The Rockets and Pacers have not yet announced that deal. Center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince are headed from the Nets to the Cavaliers, while the Rockets receive Cleveland guard Dante Exum and Brooklyn forward Rodions Kurucs. Houston also receives three unprotected first-round picks from Brooklyn -- in 2022, 2024 and 2026 -- plus pick swaps in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027, the Nets announced. The Rockets also get Cleveland's 2022 first-round pick, via the Milwaukee Bucks, and Houston is sending a 2023 second-round pick to the Pacers, sources told ESPN. Brooklyn also gets a 2024 second-round pick from the Cavaliers. The Nets have three open roster spots to fill out their bench, if they choose -- a $5.7 million tax midlevel, the minimum exception and likely a $5.7 million disabled player exception. The megadeal reunites Harden with former Oklahoma City teammate Kevin Durant in Brooklyn and positions the Nets, who also have All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, as title contenders in the Eastern Conference. "Adding an All-NBA player such as James to our roster better positions our team to compete against the league's best," Nets general manager Sean Marks said in a statement released by the team. "James is one of the most prolific scorers and playmakers in our game, and we are thrilled to bring his special talents to Brooklyn. "While we are excited to welcome James and his family to the Nets, we also want to thank the players who are departing. Caris, Jarrett, Rodions and Taurean were instrumental to the team's success and have made an enormous impact on our organization. It has been a pleasure watching them grow both as players and as people and they will always be part of our Nets family. We wish each of them and their families all the best in the future." Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league's two-time reigning MVP, said the trade is "an amazing move by Brooklyn." "Obviously they got better, way better," Antetokounmpo said after recording a triple-double in Milwaukee's victory Wednesday over the Pistons. "And they're really a powerhouse right now in the East having KD, James Harden, Kyrie Irving together on one team. That's tough. "But, at the end of the day, we've got to focus on ourselves. We've got to keep improving, keep playing good basketball and moving forward, we'll see how it is going to end up." The trade was agreed to after the Rockets opted to keep Harden away from Wednesday's practice, following the former MVP's comments Tuesday that Houston isn't "good enough" to compete for a championship. Harden hired Jason Ranne and Chafie Fields from Wasserman, and they worked closely with the Rockets and all teams involved to secure the trade for him, sources told ESPN. Wasserman also represented Russell Westbrook and worked closely with the Rockets on his trade to Wizards. Harden, who was unable to get the Rockets past the Western Conference finals, had remained quiet through months of reports that he was unhappy in Houston. First-year Rockets head coach Stephen Silas called the drama surrounding Harden an "all-around messed up situation."